Can More Protein Help You Lose Weight?

Why Loading Up On Protein Could Actually Help You Lose Weight

If you want to pack on muscle and mass, eat more protein. If you’re looking to drop a few pounds, yup, eat more protein.

Plenty of studies show that scarfing down protein can help build muscle and aid in muscle repair. Protein has also been shown to boost metabolism and increases the amount of calories you burn, which means you burn more fat. Additionally, a protein-rich diet also fuels appetite suppression, meaning you’re likely to feel full while eating less food.

Now all of this isn’t exactly new. But a new study may have figured out why a high-protein diet — one centered around lean meats, eggs and chicken and fish for example – works in suppressing appetite. The pilot study, performed by researchers from the Imperial College London found that phenylalanine, an amino acid produced by digesting protein, ramps up the hormone that tells your brain that you’re full. (Note: there is a such as eating too much protein.)

In the study, researchers tested the effects of phenylalanine on rodents, giving 10 mice and rats a single dose of phenylalanine and compared with a group of rodent that were not. The mice and rates that were given phenylalanine showed an increase of GLP-1, a hormone that suppresses appetite and reduced levels of the hormone ghrelin, which increases the hunger response.

Researchers gave the rodent regular doses of phenylalanine over a 7-day period and found those mice not only ate less but lost weight. The research team found that phenylalanine targets the calcium-sensing receptor (CaSR) — the receptor that ups GLP-1 and lower ghrelin.

“Our work is the first to demonstrate that activating CaSR can suppress appetite,” said Mariana Norton, the lead author on the study.

It’s worth noting that researchers do not yet have evidence if the enzyme phenylalanine can suppress hunger in humans. Nonetheless, we do now that adding more protein, while subbing out more of the heavy-carb foods, can aid in weight loss.